The crewmembers of a weapon system, such as an US Army M1A1 Abrams Main Battle tank, must demonstrate their target acquisition and engagement skills during periodic live-fire gunnery training exercises. A typical Army gunnery training range is 1-3 kilometers in length by 500 meters wide. At the beginning of the range is a range control/observation tower. There are one or more roads, or firing lanes, on the range with one or more Battle Positions from where the vehicles engage targets.
A tank crew is scored by how effectively and efficiently they can identify, prioritize, and engage tank-sized and personnel-sized pop-up targets from firing positions. Currently, the Army employs the Remoted Target System (RETS) or the Enhanced Remoted Target System (E-RETS) to actuate pop-up targets on the training range via computer-control. When munitions or debris strike a target, impact sensors reset the target into a defilade position and the computer registers a “hit”. The evaluators use the number of rounds fired, target hits and misses, and the time it takes for the crew to acquire and engage the targets as metrics to critique the exercise. The tank crew is expected to perform under most weather conditions, and is penalized for not following approved Army training doctrine.
The accuracy of the tank crew's score and the quality of the post-exercise review, or After-Action Review (AAR), is directly dependent upon the tools used to monitor and document the exercise. The evaluators monitor the training exercise from elevated observation towers located at one end of a training range. They document the radio communications and often record how the tank engages the targets using imaging systems. Currently, these tools are crude and inadequate to perform a meaningful AAR.
The evaluators communicate with the tank via an Army Single Channel Ground to Air Radio System (SINCGARS). They can also monitor the communications between the tank's crewmembers using the same system. To record the audio communications with the tank, evaluators place an analog cassette tape recorder against the radio's speaker. The quality of the recording is often poor because the cassette tape recorder records ambient noise and conversations in addition to the radio communications. This arcane audio recording method is one of the tools used in the AAR process. The disadvantages of this method are the poor audio quality and the inherent limitations associated with using an audio record to recreate a dynamic action sequence.
The evaluators use visual tools to verify the safety conditions on the training range and the accuracy of the crew's marksmanship. They observe the exercise during the day using their unaided eye, high-powered binoculars, or Army issued 1st Generation thermal imaging systems. These thermal imaging systems allow the evaluators to see through some fog and smoke conditions in addition to operating in total darkness. Standard 1st Generation thermal imagers do not offer a video line output. They must be modified in order to do so. Therefore, unless the systems are modified, the imagery from the systems cannot be recorded to document the exercise. A visual verification of the crew's marksmanship is necessary to validate “hits” scored by the RETS (or E-RETS). The system does not always accurately score the “hits”. If a tank round falls short of the target, showering debris can strike the target and register a strike. Conversely a round can glance off the target and not be registered. A visual verification by the evaluator can validate the target system's scores. Although the use of imaging systems is useful, the manner in which they are employed is crude. These systems are typically mounted on tripods and manually traversed by an operator. When the RETS actuates a target, the operator is expected to visually find the target on the range, which can be an area as large as one million square meters, then traverse the imager to the target in time to see the round strike it. One can imagine how difficult and ineffective this task can be.
The current audio and video tools used by evaluators do not provide the meaningful feedback tank crews need to improve their performance. The audio record makes it difficult to reference the crew's communications with their actions. This “audio only” record creates an opportunity for a crew to shortcut approved operating procedures within the vehicle. They can say one thing while doing something else. The video record, if there is one, is only as good as the operator who operates the imaging sensor. If the operator does not verify the point-of-impact of the round, then the video record is useless. This record is used to substantiate the RETS-generated score. Without the video record the accuracy of the score can be questioned.
Some Army training ranges use one system to better document the actions of the training vehicle. The Deployable Range Training Safety System (DRTSS) by EFW Inc., Fort Worth, Tex. combines a Through-Sight Video (TSV) device in conjunction with a thermal imager. The TSV is a device that mounts to the M1A1 Commander's optical display and captures the imagery he sees. This imagery is identical to the tank Gunner's imagery, hence offering the evaluators the ability to see the battlefield through the eyes of the vehicle crew. The TSV signal is recorded to a S-VHS VCR mounted on the vehicle in addition to being transmitted to the range's observation tower. A computer-controlled thermal imager is emplaced on the training range to provide another perspective of the battlefield. The DRTSS displays the TSV and thermal imaging system on two separate video monitors. There are several limitations to this system.
Therefore, there needs to be a more efficient and better quality manner of assessing a weapon system training crew's performance. The present invention addresses this need.